Nvidia is making a substantial £2 billion investment in the UK's AI startup ecosystem, joining Microsoft and Google in bolstering the nation's AI infrastructure. This initiative combines venture funding, university partnerships, and the construction of new data centres to support emerging companies in the field of artificial intelligence. Nvidia's CEO, Jensen Huang, views the UK as a strategically important location for growth, citing its world-class universities, ambitious startups, leading researchers, and cutting-edge supercomputing capabilities.
This £2 billion commitment complements Nvidia's broader £11 billion investment in AI infrastructure within the UK. By combining capital investment with new data centre capacity, the company aims to address the challenges of funding and access to computing resources that have historically constrained UK startups. Nvidia is partnering with Nscale, a British data centre builder, to construct new facilities across the UK. These data centres will utilise Nvidia processors, transforming them into what Huang describes as "AI factories". The investment will be channelled through partnerships with venture capital firms and distributed across hubs in London, Oxford, Cambridge, and Manchester.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has welcomed Nvidia's investment as a validation of the UK's AI capabilities, anticipating job creation and the emergence of new industries. Research centres at Imperial College London, University College London, and the University of Cambridge are expected to play significant roles, given their reputations as global leaders in AI research.
